Bunker and air circulating fan assembly for refrigerator cars



Jan. 25, 1949.

3 Sheets-Sheet l P. K. BEEMER BUNKER AND AIR CIRCULATING FAN ASSEMB FORREFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Aug. 5, 1947 Tau] KEEITYEI" Jan 25, 1949. P. K.BEEMER BUNKER AND AIR CIRCULATING FAN ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR CARSFiled Aug. 5, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 .ZIJYEJ? 2 01- Ta 21] K275512751Jan. 25, 1949. P. K. BEEMER 2,459,912

BUNKER AND AIR CIRCULATING FAN ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 5, 1947 :Z HLZZ- K255527751? Kid/5% ment ofthe car.

Patented Jan. 25, 1949 BUNKER SEMBLY FOR Paul K. Beemer, Ingl PrecoIncorporated,

3 Claims.

This invention has reference to the structure and design of refrigeratorcars equipped with forced air circulation; and the purpose of theinvention is to combine the structure and design of the ice bunker andthe air circulating fan in such manner that the fan housing forms a partof, and the supporting structure for the bunker bulkhead, either movableor stationary, and in such manner that the bulkhead overlies andprotects the fan housing from physical injury.

Other objects and corresponding eifects and results of the inventionwill be explained along with a detailed explanation of preferredstructures and designs, shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section showing thepresent preferred design including a movable or convertible bulkhead;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section at somewhat reduced scale, taken asindicated by line 2=-2 on Fig. 1, and also showing a typical mechanismfor driving the fan, said mechanism not being shown in Fig. 1; r

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan section taken as indicated by line 3-3 onFig. 1 and with parts broken away for illustrative purposes, and

Fig. 4 is a section similar to that of Fig. 1 but showing a stationarybulkhead.

In the drawings various parts of a car struc-, ture are shown merelyv indiagrammatic form. The parts so illustrated and referred to herein areto be taken as typical of any car structure. In Fig. 1 a part of the carfloor structure is indicated at H), and in Fig. 2 the whole thickness ofa typical car floorstructure and framing is indicated diagrammaticallyat Illa. The upper layer of that whole floor structure, the partindicated !b in Fig. 1 forms what is usually referred to as the floor ofthe lading compart- Over that floor is spaced the raised lading floor,usually comprised of transverse slats H, as shown more or lessdiagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 3. The end wall of the ladingcompartment is formed by the bulkhead which stands permanently. or when-in use as such. in the position indicated at B in Figs. 1 and 3,dividing the lading compartment from the ice bunker which is formedbetween the bulkhead at B and the end wall structure H! of the car. Thatend wall structure is again shown merely diagrammatically and typicallyin Fig. 1. The ice bunker .may typically be provided with an icegratefeither permanently at the level of lading floor. H, or movable tothat level.

Such an ice grate atsuch ,a levelisindicated AND AIR CIRCULATING FAN AS-REFR-IGERATOR CARS ewood, Calif., assignor to Los Angeles, Calif., acorporation of California Application August 5, 1947, Serial No. 766,399

generally at l3 and, insofar as the present invention is concerned, maybe of any type or structure.

In the present preferred design the forward edge of ice grate i3 issupported on brackets 15. These brackets and the forward edge of the icegrate, are spaced from the adjacent edge of lading floor I! by adistance which is approximately just sufiicient to accommodate fanhousing l6, which in general may be described as a metallic housing ofapproximately square section as seen in Fig. 1 and extending in lengthtransversely across approximately full width of the car floor. The baseplate ll of the fan housing, in the preferred design here shown, restsdirectly on top of the car floor sheathing l8 which has its rear edgeextending into and bent downwardly over the forward wall I la of thedrip pan 14. The metal forming the drip pan is extended forwardly in theform of an apron Mb under the extended part of floor sheathing 18 whichlies directly under base plate ll of the fan housing. The whole. tanhousing is secured to the car floor structure typically by bolts or lagscrews, such as shown atl9.

Fan housing it, as will appear, is a unitary structure of considerableinherent stiifness including the base plate, a vertical wall and a coverplate 20. Inthe preferred design shown in Fig. 1, the movable bulkheadrests directly on cover plate 20 when the bulkhead is in its position ofuse. The upper surface of cover plate 29 is flush with the upper floorsurface of lading floor II and with the upper surface of ice grate l3.Bulkhead B, as here shown merely diagrammatically comprises a wall bodystructure 2| with an interior facing 22 and an external facing 23. Itextends substantially across the full width of the car, either having aslight clearance of the car side walls at its vertical edges, or havingsuitable contact strips 35 as shown in Fig.3. In Fig. 3 the bulkhead isindicated merely in block section, fragmentarily, for clarity ofillustration. On its bot tom edge surface the bulkhead is shown asequipped with a seating plate 24, integrated with the bulkhead wallstructure 2i, and having at its forward edge a down-turned rib 25.Seating plate 24, and its rib 25, extend over the whole length of thebottomface of the bulkhead (from side to side of the car). The ribprojects downwardly into a seating channel 26 which is formed in aforwardly extended portionof top plate 20 ofthe fan housing. Thisseating channel also extends approximately the full width of the car andthe full width dimension of the bulkhead, extending as it doesthroughout the whole length of cover plate 20. This extended channelformation is supported on the fan housing by suitable supportingbrackets 21. The =channel formation lies for-- ward of the outer,forward wall '43 of 'the fan housing, and below the level of the coverplate, and lading floor. In this position it does not obstruct thelading floor surface, and allows the seating plate 24' to rest'directlyfonf-the cover plate over the vertical wall 43 when rib'25 isin the channel. Plate 24 with itsrib 25.being integrated with and lyingdirectly "under "the structural wall part M of the bulkhead, the

latter is given good support both vertically and horizontally againstload thrusts. V

The bulkhead B as shown in Figs. 1 to 13 1s one of the type which, to bemoved from position Band thus to makethe ice bunker space available forlading, is first. moved upwardly from its position shown at B far enoughto clear rib 25 from channel 26. 'It may 'then be moved to any otherdesired position, for 'instance against the end wall. It is then movedrearwardly to the plane of the position shown at B1 against the endWaIL'a'nddrOpped down to a position where its securing ribs '25 "is"received in a channel formation 26a .formed in the ice grate structure.With the bulkhead in that position, cover plate becomes an eflectivepartof the lading fioor, asdoes also the -ice :gr'ate. The, type of liftingand moving mechanism by which the bulkhead is moved is immaterial to thepresent-invention; as is also the-particular internal structure of thebulkhead wall "itself. The upper end of the bulkhead may be-"secured inpositions B and B1 by laterally projecting lugs whichdrop down intofixed sockets when rib--drops down'into channel 26-or'26a. Suitablebulkhead structures and suitable means for lifting, moving and se'curingitareshown in the copending application of=Herbert W'leden, et a1., Ser.No. 685,510, filed July 22, 1946.

The over-all thickness of "bulkhead B m'ay have any desired" relation tothe width dimension of fan housing [6. 'As here slrown, its 51 over-allthickness is approximately the same as that widthdimensio'mhutth'elocation of securing'rib 25in cover plate'channel26forwarder the' body of the fan housing'locate's therearpr inte'rior face22 'ofithe bulkhead some distance forward of the rear edge of 'coverplate 20. The rear part of the cover'pla'te, and of'jthe fan housirigbody, thus extend rearwardly of the bulkheadinner face. The "rear partof'the 'cover plate thus in efi'ect becomes a part of the ice supportingstructure in the bunker. And'to prevent melt water from flowing into theinterio'r 'ofthefan housing (down the inner face offa'n housing rearwall i2) the rear edge of cover 'plate 20 is extended and bentdownwardly in a protec'tive overhang as shown at 20a. This rear wa11 =42of the fan'house ing is, in effect, a lower part of 'tlie front wall ofthe ice bunker. I A

Fig. lshows a-stru'cture-whlch is similar in all respectsto that shownin Fig, lexept to show a stationary bulkhead B2 ounted permanently ina-position o'n fan hou-sing l6. BulkheadBz isshown as made up of a wanstructureZ la and aiiacing 23a; The structural"portionzlafofthe bulkheadwall 'includes a" flanged inverted 'channel member I 2 I b at its baseand this channel member aie permanntly secufedto cover plate 20b in anysuitable manner, as by bolts 2E0. These flanges are preferably wideenough that their edges lie over the vertical walls $2 and 33 of the fanhousing.

The thickness of the bulkhead wall structure Eta is here less than thewidth dimension of housing ii and cover ipl'ate 20b; and with the wallstructure centered above lthe fan housing, the bulkhead inner facing 22ais forward of the rear edge of cover plate 20b. The rear portion of thecover plate consequently becomes in efiect a part of the ice supportingstructure in the ice bunker, the same as in Fig. 1; and the rear edgeisprovided with the's'ame downturned overhang Zil'a tosh'ed melt "waterexteriorly of the rear "housingw'all 42. s The forward edge of the cover-plate, in this form is also provided with a similar down-turnedoverhang 20c.

Other than described above, the arrangement in Fig. 4 is essentially thesame as in Fig. 1 and the same numerals are applied to correspondingpar-ts. The ice grate'and the "cover plateofthe fan housingaresho'wnhereasb'eing at --'the same level as in Fig. "l. :Howeverjinthisarrangement where a iixed bulkhead is used, "their level is hotnecessarily restricted to the level of the lading floor. 'The' fanstructure and housing nan if desired, be larger in cross section' and ofgreater height -'an"d then,- or in any caseflthe icegratewan be 7 at a:higher level.

In both t-he arrangements of :Fig's. 'Lenii l the fa'h housing structure"may be "and is shown as the same; shown in essentials in -Figs. and Anysuitable drive mechanism y be nsea -for the fan, insofar as the presentinvention is eon- Gerned. frag. 2 shows -'a ty pi'cal drive me hanism,The fan liousing' structureft'h'e ran strunture,-an'd-tlie d1"ivi'rig{iriechanism,in and er -theraselves are not sub-i ect Tn'atter-s' 0fThe-presentinve ion. 'The fanstructures and arrangements here-shown are"the subject-"matters of the patems to william E.-"Vah De1n No.2.214;;21'0 "dated September 10, 1940, and No. 2,34'9j3l'5fla1ted May23, 1944. rhe fan housing subject-matter (it-application Ser. "No-6141220 led September 4fl945, byFrederi'ck -C.Lindvall, a elf-now PatentNo. 2144224 20, issue "date iiune l, 1948. And the particularfiriving'ihech'anisih here illustrated as typical is the "subie'ct matter efthepatent er wiliiam van 13cm 23131158, dated Dec'einber*2 4, 1946. l

The -fan housing, structure is in essen'se coinposedbf the bottom platelljof the top plate 20 ando'f avertio'al wall structure which, as shownbest in "Fig.3, isofzig zag formation Inessense, this vertical wallstructure may be'thought of as being comp se'a-er "a long "strip "of{heavy sheetnietalgofa width equal} to thefverti-cal'wallheightfbent'into the zig zagform to provide both the longitudinal 'andcross'wall 'elelnentsof the housing; a-lthou' madcap-of several unitarypieces whichare weldefd into a was fy fwhole. The structure, 1 howevercomposed, -i"s" b er 1t so as to j form "two "transverse end -walls dfiand several intermediate cross walls 4! with intervening front and rearwaupo tions 4'3 and-' l' ZGWhieh extend between "altern ate fpa irsofthe end -ane intermediate transverse 'v'valls. Outside the endwalls-"4D; the vertical wallstructure is extended as "indicatedat-Mtojapproaeh cl'o s'elyto the-"car side "Wallsf5 Theivertical wallstructure. so form'ed,'*is WeIdedf'along fits top'and bottom edgest thetop andbottom 'plates'to rormafr gid,taifyfarid"substantl'ally'firitegral fanhoii'sing structure. DueWosuGhintegration,

structure isalso the.

gh in practice this *structure is' .ments 45, screens lea may twoopposite vertical faces of the housing. These and due to the fact thatthe vertical wall structure includes wall units extending bothlengthwise and transversely of the housing, the housing structure isvery rigid and strong, and capable of rigidly supporting the bulkheadand holding it rigidly in place against load thrusts, and of taking anynecessary proportion of its weight. It may be remarked that the housingbottom plate l'l, instead of resting on the metallic floor sheathing l8,may be in effect a portion of that sheathing itself. That is, thehousing might be formed in place on the floor sheathing as a bottomplate; but for manufacturing convenience,

, use of a separate bottom plate is preferred.

As so formed, the housing structure presents alternate compartments 45and 46 which are each open on one side and with: their open sides atopposite sides of the fan housing. As here shown the compartments 45face inwardly toward the ice bunker, under the level of the ice grate,and compartments 46 face outwardly toward the lading compartment underthe level of lading floor H. The several transverse walls Ml and 4|, orat least certain of them, are perforated with large central openings 41.A single fan shaft 48, mounted in suitable bearings 49, extendssubstantially through the complete length of the housing, extendingthrough openings 41 of the several transverse walls. In each ofcompartments 45 fan shaft carries a radial bladed fan unit 56, bearings49 being located in the other compartments 46. Rotation of the fan shaftand of the radial bladed fans in either direction draws air from underthe lading floor, through compartments 4B which are open to the spaceunder that floor, through openings 41 in the transverse wall structures;and then, thrown outwardly by the fans, the air flows through the opensides of compartments 45 into the space under the ice grate. Suitableopenings being provided in the upper part of the bulkhead, rotation ofthe fans thus sets up a circulation from the space under the ladingfloor, upwardly through the ice bunker, and outwardly over anddownwardly through the load in the lading space.

Although of course the arrangement of the fan housing may be reversed,to-make fan compartments 45 face the space under the lading floor andthus draw air downwardly through the ice bunker and force it out intothe lading compartment under the lading floor, the reversed direction ofcirculation above described is preferred for several reasons. It ispreferred generally because in most circumstances it sets up a moreuniform temperature throughout the load. It is preferred hereparticularly because that direction of circulation, with the fan locatedimmediately adjacent the ice bunker and with the fan housing structurein full effect forming a part of the ice bunker wall, the melt water,salt or other debris dropping down from the ice rate are driven awayfrom the fan structure and mechanism instead of being drawn into it. Toprevent accidental entry of any matter from the bunker into the fancompartments 45, or the entry of any debris from the lading compartmentinto the housing compartbe extended over the are shown in Fig. 3 butomitted from the other figures for clarity of illustration.

The fan may be driven in any suitable manner and by any suitablemechanism. It may be driven directly by an independent driving motor;and it is designed to be so driven at least when the car is standing.For pre-cooling or similar operations an electric motor or other primarydrive may be applied to the exteriorly projecting hub 54a. Normally,however, it is preferred to drive the fan shaft from the running gear ofthe car. That drive may take various forms; the following described formis typical.

As here shown, an end bearing 49a for the fan shaft is located at ornear one end of fan housing l6, and at that end shaft 48 projectsthrough the side wall structure 5| of the car. Preferably an opening ismade through the side wall structure lined with a tubular lining 52, andsuitable means in the nature of a packing gland 53 stops off entry ofair around the shaft. The outer end of shaft 48 carries a drive pulley54 which is driven by belt 55 from a driving pulley 55 mounted on theouter end of a drive shaft 57, the inner end of which carries a suitabletraction roller 58 adapted to roll in tractive contact with car wheel59-. Drive shaft 51 is mounted in suitable bearings in a tubular support68 which is carried by two radial arms 6i and 62 which swing around theaxis of a supporting shaft 63 mounted in suitable bearings under thefloor of the car. Arms 6i and t2 swing about that axis independently ofeach other and a spring 64 has an end which bears at a suitableintermediate point upon shaft housing 50; so that the spring pressurepresses traction roller 58 into contact with wheel 59 and also tends tomove pulley 56 downwardly to tension the driving belt 55.

I claim:

1. In a car construction having a car floor, side walls and an end wall,and a lading floor spaced above the car floor and having an and spacedfrom the car end wall; a combined ice bunker and ventilating structurecomprising, a fan housing structure extending in length across the carfloor substantially from side to side immediately adjacent the ladingfloor end, the fan housing being an elongate unitary box-like structurecomprising top and bottom plates and an intermediate vertical wallstructure comprising staggered longitudinal Wall portions andinterconnecting transverse wall portions forming a series of compartments alternate ones of which are open at opposite sides of thehousing, the housing being spaced from the car and wall with the uppersurface of its upper plate flush with the upper sur-- face of the ladingfloor and forming the lower part of a transverse wall structure whichdivides an ice bunker compartment adjacent the end wall from a ladingcompartment whose floor is formed by the lading floor, a fan drivingshaft extending lengthwise through the fan housing, certain of thetransverse housing walls being perforate, fan units on the shaft inalternate housing compartments, an ice grate in the ice bunkercompartment with its upper surface at the level of the lading floorsurface, and a bulkhead structure extending across the car interior fromside to side, the bulkhead structure being movable between a positionagainst the car end wall and a position over the fan housing where it issupported directly on the housing top plate and forms the upper part ofthe transverse wall structure which divides the ice bunker from thelading compartment, the housing structure including an upwardly facingchannel formation extending longitudinally of the structure at a levelbelow the surface of the top plate, and the lower edge of the bulkheadstructure being provided with a downwardly projecting bead adapted toenter the channel formation.

2. In a car construction having a car floor, side ments alternate onesof which are open at 013-- posi'te sides of the housing, the "housingbeing spaced from the car end well and formin the lower part of atransverse wall structure which divides an ice bunker compartmentadjacent the end. wall from a lading compartment whose-ricer i's-formeclby the lading floor, a an driving shaft exte'nding'lengthwise throughthe fan housing,

certain of the transverse housing walls'b'eing perforate, fan units onthe shaft in alternate housing compartments, and a bulkhead structureextending across the car interior from side to side, supported directlyon the housing top :plate, and forming the upper p'art of the't-ransverse wall structure'which divides the i'cehunker from theleiding compartment, the thickness er the'rbuih head structure being'less than the width dimension 01 the fan housing structure, and theJon-lizhead being-positioned 'on the housing structure to leave anuncovered :pohtion o'f th'e top plate at that edge of the top platewhich is adjacent the ice-bunker.

3. A combined structure as defined :in claim 1, and in which theupwardly facing channel formation is located sexteriorly or one of theside walls of the housing structure.

e a PAUL rmlwnmnen's' -clmnn The ioliowi'ng "references are of record inthe file of this "patent:

TED STATE ATENTS Number -t e 3 7 Wieden July 20;.1942 --2,386,'GQ2

O'Connor Oct. 2:, 1945

